


You can take the Man out of the Wolf, but you can't take the Wolf out of the Man

by DreamHero



Series: Legend of Zelda Stories [7]
Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Found Family, Gen, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Nonbinary Wild (Linked Universe), Protective Twilight, Selectively Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), Team as Family, Temporary Amnesia, Twilight (Linked Universe) - POV, Twilight (Linked Universe)-centric, Wild (Linked Universe) Angst, Wild (Linked Universe) Needs a Hug, Wild (Linked Universe)-centric, Wolf Instincts, Wolf Twilight (Linked Universe)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:14:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27028669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreamHero/pseuds/DreamHero
Summary: Twilight has always felt like something was missing. Some part of him was gone. It was an emptiness he could never explain. Until they arrive in an unknown, untamed, Hyrule full of monsters, and the wolf inside of him stirs.
Relationships: Four & Hyrule & Legend & Sky & Time & Twilight & Warriors & Wild & Wind (Linked Universe), Time & Twilight (Linked Universe), Twilight & Wild (Linked Universe)
Series: Legend of Zelda Stories [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1957054
Comments: 35
Kudos: 426





	You can take the Man out of the Wolf, but you can't take the Wolf out of the Man

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! This is a one-shot I've been working on for a few weeks actually. I never knew how to finish it, but suddenly the perfect idea of the ending came to me and I was finally able to post it! This a bit different than what I normally do, but it was fun.  
> (we need more feral wolf Twilight fics).
> 
> Anyway, enjoy! :)

Twilight for as long as he could remember, had always felt slightly out of place. Twilight always chalked it up to his adventures in the Twilight Realm, and his conflicting emotions behind it. He carried their magic with him still, the curse lingering in his blood long after the portal was destroyed. It was an unpleasant feeling, but it was something he could ignore most days, and on the days he couldn’t… well, there was a reason Ordon Village had a rumor of wolves. 

But since meeting the other Links, the other heroes. Since starting his second quest in the name of a goddess who’s never helped him. Twilight couldn’t help but feel like the feeling was growing stronger. Something was wrong; it had to be. It wasn’t the terrible spine chilling feeling he got before a knife was stuck in his back or right before a monster breaths down his neck. It was just the knowledge that something was out of place, no that wasn’t right either. Something was… missing. Yes missing. What was missing Twilight couldn’t say, but he felt off. Slightly lost and out of place. Confused, and worried, and angry. He felt like a panicky teenager too over their head with a fate they never asked for again. But at least Twilight knew what was going on then. This was just… wrong.

Time kept sending him glances, and after Legends third attempt to riel him up into an argument he normally would have at least tolerated, everyone else around camp started to watch him too. Twilight didn’t want to worry them, didn’t want to be fussed over. He was one of the oldest in the group(not timeline-wise, but who the hell knows where any of them fall timeline-wise besides Sky and Time). He couldn’t let the others worry about him, not when every part of Twilight's being was yelling at him to worry about someone else. Who though he just couldn’t-

“Twilight,”

He snapped to attention, glancing up into Time’s hard but quickly softening gaze, “I’ve been calling you. We’re heading out.” Twilight nodded; he remembered that. (Though he didn’t want to admit he had been spacing and losing time more often than not recently, he didn’t want to worry the others any further than he already had). “Are you alright?”

Twilight shakes his head too quickly not to be suspicious and gets to his feet; the wolf inside of his chest groans from sitting still too long. And Twilight wonders just how long he had been sitting there for the beast to get this restless.

Time doesn’t look convinced, but they are in a dangerous unknown Hyrule, swarming with monsters, and they had yet to meet a single other living person in two days. Twilight knows the others were starting to fear they had arrived too late, that this was a world where the darkness won. So they march on, and the wolf inside Twilight grows more restless with each step.

Twilight tries not to show how much stress the pacing beast in his head causes him, how much strain it takes to stop his lips from forming a snarl at Warriors when he barks a command to rest to close and loud in his ears, how hard it is to not just give in and run. Where Twilight doesn’t know, but the itch, the need is becoming almost overwhelming.

“Twilight you’re looking a little pale,”

Twilight’s not sure who's talking, tries to focus his eyes, to… look down? Up? Twilight’s pretty sure the world isn’t supposed to spin. ‘Time is going to be so mad,’ is the last coherent thought Twilight thinks before he collapses into the ground at Hyrule’s feet.

…

Twilight wakes, slowly. He feels foggy, disoriented. But… but he remembers an emptiness that’s no longer there. Twilight tries to make sense of it. To understand what has changed. He got so used to missing, it feels almost wrong to be full again. He feels the same. He’s warm; he’s safe, he’s home. Everything smells the same. He smells again just to be sure, and yes, Twilight allows himself to settle back into unconsciousness again. His kit is here too. Everything is as it should be.  


…

The next time Twilight wakes, the pain is almost unbearable. It takes him a moment to realize the screaming is him, and the water on his face isn’t from rain, but tears. His chest aches like a physical wound and the wolf in his head howls and thrashes and mourns. Twilight mourns with it even as he doesn’t truly realize what he’s missing, what he’s mourning. What has he lost? Why does it hurt so much?

When Twilight’s pain eases (or rather when he gets used to the emptiness in his chest once more) and the wolf inside settles down to pained cries instead of howls, Twilight becomes aware of the others. Of their wide eyed stares and pitting looks. Twilight wishes he could conjure another emotion other than anger or sadness or just emptiness, but he can’t. So he snarls, at the offered hands, teeth too sharp in his mouth and blood pumping with too much adrenaline. He storms into the forest with words he would never throw if his heart wasn’t bleeding.

No one follows him.

The next morning is quiet, Sky offers an ear to listen, and Twilight has to bite his tongue to stop the retort of “this is your goddess’s fault” from leaving his lips. Sky seems to somehow read it in his eyes anyway, and doesn’t bother him the rest of the day. 

Time keeps him on a short leash, giving him more tasks and keeping him almost tied to his hip in the front of the group. Twilight is both glad Time is keeping him from hurting the others and annoyed he’s ordering him around. Twilight normally had no problem following orders, he blames the still restless and snarling wolf inside of him for the change.

It isn’t until camp is being set up that night that someone brings up Twilight’s dream again.

“Are we going to talk about it?” Warriors asks, curt and to the point. Putting on his captain persona. Twilight ignores the wolf’s suggestion of biting him.

“No,” he hisses, glaring daggers at the knight, “drop it.”

“You’ve been acting weird all day!” Wind unhelpfully adds.

“We’re just worried,” Hyrule pleads.

“This isn’t an intervention. I said drop it,” he says, some of the snarl leaking into his voice.

“It’s becoming an intervention,” Legend quips, “now spill.”

“I said no!” and Twilight’s on his feet, teeth bared in a warning only a beast would understand, but the action is enough to shock the others into quieting down. “Leave me alone,” he growls turning to walk away for another night spent in the woods, when Time grabs his hand,

“Twilight your losing control.”

“I’m not-,”

“Your eyes are yellow.”

Twilight freezes, caught off guard. His eyes changed color? They could do that? Twilight came crashing back into reality as he realized he had merged with the wolf in his head far more than normal. It was more active than usual and its emotions were bleeding into his own. Twilight couldn’t control it. It was hurting his friends, driving him towards something-the wolf growled in his mind in desperation-he couldn’t listen to it blindly.

“I-,” what was he supposed to say? Twilight decided that maybe it was time for the truth, maybe secrets, and ‘I’m fines’ weren’t going to fix this anymore, “I don’t know what’s going on Time.”

Time’s eye softened, a sad understanding look, and in seconds Twilight was wrapped up in a hug. “I know pup,” he muttered into Twilight’s hair, and Twilight felt both him and the prowling wolf in his mind settle, “I’ve played with things I didn’t understand before and I lost myself to them. Let us help you.”

Twilight wasn’t sure how they could help, but the wolf seemed content for now, even as the missing piece of his heart gnawed at him from the inside out. Twilight would find the answers, he would figure out this puzzle, and he wouldn’t lose himself(anymore of himself).

That night Twilight dreamed of a cottage, of a figure with too-perfect skin and unkempt flowing locks of gold. Of a warm fire and a bubbling pot of stew in a large black pot. Twilight thinks it’s a dream of his own home, of the mother he never knew, in the home he would have had in another life. It would explain why he’s always looking up, why he feels impossibly too full and happy looking at the figure he can’t clearly see through the haze of dreams. Twilight doesn’t really want to get up, he thinks he could be happy here with them forever. But dawn comes, and with it consciousness and the realization it was nothing more than a painful, impossible, wistful dream. 

With Twilight’s confession, the group has eased. They watch Twilight like a particularly clever Bokoblin masqueraded as one of their one ready to strike at any moment, but at least the tension seems to have let up. They don’t glare at him anymore, so Twilight takes the wariness instead.

They reach their first settlement about midday. It's an odd building, made of colorful fabrics and pieced together wood, sculpted into the likeness of a horse’s head. Twilight is already endured to these strange Hylians and their horse buildings. It’s a stable they come to learn. And that there are two nearby villages, Kakariko and Hateno. 

“Kakariko Village,” Warriors says, crossing his arms, “if we want answers we need to see the Sheikah.”

“I agree, most of us have an Impa and she’s pretty knowledgeable,” Sky nods.

“But the ocean!” Wind protests stomping his foot and huffing like an angry toddler. 

“Next time buddy,” Four promises as the group starts to confirm directions. 

Twilight keeps his mouth closed and jaw tight. He promised Time he would fight off the influence of the wolf, but it was currently clawing on the inside of his mind like a kitty post. It hurt, and Twilight’s head pounded in pain, but he was stronger than its little temper tantrum (though he had never seen it this vocal or agitated). 

“Twilight?” he looked up at Time, flexing his grip on his arms, as he felt his own nails draw blood. He winced, and Time glances down to the small trickle of blood, he frowned as he looked up, “what does it want?”

Twilight really didn’t have time to ask. It also was a wolf, so it wasn’t very chatty seeing as how it couldn’t actually speak. But Twilight could understand it to some extent. (He tried to forget the times he let himself merge too much with it and he understood it as perfectly as his own thoughts). But Twilight wasn’t actually sure this time, it just starting getting angry when they talked about going to Kakariko Village so Twilight had to guess it really didn’t want to go there. Which might actually be a real red flag considering the wolf had amazing senses.

Time was still waiting so Twilight did his best to talk through his teeth, “doesn’t want to go to Kakariko.”

Time nodded, seeming to consider this information before slowly asking, “and Hateno?”

Twilight was about to tell him he really didn’t think the wolf cared, when the fighting against his mind stopped. Twilight physically jolted, it almost felt like his head was empty, but he could still feel the wolf, he could always feel the wolf. He pressed against the bond slightly worried that something had happened, had it sensed something? Was something coming? Were they in danger? What-

Twilight felt the wolf pounce, felt the wolf forcibly take ahold of his consciousness, felt it force their emotions to connect, to share, to merge. Twilight was overwhelmed, frustration and anger being the two rising quickest to the top, prominent in both of them, but then came the fear also from both of them, and that had Twilight pause. Was the wolf that sacred of whatever lied at the top of the mountain? He almost felt bad trying to silence it but no, the fear was tied to worry, tied to… love. 

Twilight couldn’t comprehend it. The wolf existed as he existed it had no memories or emotions outside of his experiences so how did it… how did it fear for a loved one Twilight didn’t know. The wolf mourned and he mourned, the emptiness in his heart ached. And oh-oh-oh no. Twilight and the wolf shared memories, the wolf didn’t experience anything without him. Which could only mean one terrible awful thing. 

Twilight forgot. 

_But who did he forget, who was he missing, who was so important, who-_

“Smack!”

Twilight jolts back to the present due to the sting of pain lacing through his cheek. Time’s holding him up and clutching at his face in apology, “I’m sorry pup, but your eyes went yellow and you started mumbling things. I had to snap you out before I lost you.”

Twilight wanted to slap Time back. He was so close, he almost figured out who he was missing, he almost found the answer! But-but he understood. Time didn’t know that the wolf was acting out of love, Twilight didn’t know till just now, but he couldn’t tell Time that, he would think the wolf had him.

“I-,” Twilight takes a stuttering breath and tries to organize his still reeling brain, he was still connected to the wolf, not as deeply but it was there and more present than ever. It was still very jarring, to feel the snarl of anger lacing his thoughts or the growl of ‘protect’ and ‘find’ the wolf seemed to chant in the back of his mind. “I really don’t think we should go up the mountains,” he said, hoping his own voice wasn’t laced with the same desperation as his thoughts, “he-it, it was really scared.”

Time sighs and helps Twilight stand back up, as the other Heroes race over, looking reviled to find Twilight up and moving. “Hateno Village, it is then.”

“Wait,” Warriors says, holding a map in one hand and a newly stocked bag in the other, “I thought we agreed-,”

Time cuts in with a long sigh and a raised hand, which quickly silences any further protest from any of the other heroes, “We’ve had some new insight.”

“Yay ocean!” Wind cheers bouncing on his feet and doing what Twilight thinks is a dance around a very confused Sky.

“When I said next time Wind, I didn’t think it was going to be this time.” Four admits with a little laugh as the group heads out.

Twilight tries to keep his nervous down to a minimum, but by the confused glances, he keeps getting he’s not doing a good job. But it’s really hard to not fidget when the only thing the wolf in his head wants to do is run. Twilight knows they’re going the right way though, the landscape starts to look like things he’s seen in dreams, and the smells feel like long-forgotten memories of a childhood he never lived. It’s so confusing. It’s like two sides of himself are warring with each other with different memories and facts and events. Twilight doesn’t want to change. He likes who he is, but he misses that brief feeling of being whole, of that missing part, that missing person. Twilight wants to find them, wants to protect and care and love. And he doesn’t care anymore if it’s the wolf’s feelings or his. 

They don’t reach Hateno Village by nightfall and Twilight has to physically restrain himself from bolting off into the woods. He’s so close he can smell them just over there, they have to hurry if they don’t they might move again disappear into nothing, into blue sparks of foul-smelling magic and-

“Is there something in the woods?”

Twilight spins, hand on his sword before he registers that it’s Sky. They both look surprised before Sky laughs awkwardly, “Sorry Twilight, I thought you heard me, is the thing out there that bad?”

Twilight growls, “No”. Sky recoils and Twilight mentally scolds himself, of course, Sky doesn’t know about them, it wasn’t an insult. He shouldn’t take it as such, but the wolf and Twilight were paranoid, afraid they would miss them, afraid what the other heroes would think-,

 _What would they think?_ Twilight couldn’t even fully picture this person, but he knew he loved them to the point it ached like a piece of his very soul as missing to be away from them, he didn’t care, he would love them he knew. _But what if the others didn’t? What then? Twilight couldn’t leave them again? Would he stay here if it came to that?_ Twilight found the answer coming to him very quickly. _Yes._ Yes. He would. He let them down once, not again. Never again.

He stared out into the night, the urge to run was stronger now. Twilight would miss the other heroes, oh he would miss them. But… but this was different. 

He could feel Time coming up behind him, Sky must have gotten him. Told him Twilight was acting weird again. Twilight couldn’t risk it, he couldn’t let them suffer alone. Twilight had the other heroes but them? Twilight knew they kept to themselves. Twilight couldn’t wait any longer.

He ran.

Time’s shout, his order, his plea, almost stopped him, but the wolf sent him a fleeting image, just a fragment of a memory Twilight was slowly piecing together, the sound of sobs in his ear, the smell of salt, the feeling of water soaking into his fur. Twilight ran faster. The other heroes didn’t follow him, probably couldn’t. Twilight wasn’t even fully aware of where he was going, he let the wolf led, let the smell of old magic and blood and something just unmistakably nature lead him. He would find them, he always did. 

Twilight wasn’t even aware he had shifted until he was standing in front of a closed-door with the sudden dilemma of not knowing how to open it. He was about to shift back when a gasp rang out behind him. He turned ready to fend off whichever hero had followed him, but the growl died.

His chest swelled, he felt so impossibly full and warm. And here they were. Long tangled blond hair, crystal blue eyes, and porcelain-like pale skin. Link, Kit. Oh goddess how could he ever forget? The Kit’s eyes teared up and Twilight meet them halfway, nuzzling his snout into their hair and rumbling a low comforting sound as the kit cried into his fur. Twilight wanted to hold them, wanted to ease their worries with more than just sounds, but he didn’t want to startle the kit any more than he had. 

He pulled away slowly and felt so heartbreaking sad at the noise they made when he did. He nudged them towards the door and finally, the kit got the hint, sniffling and unlocking the door, before sliding the deadlock in place and burying their face into Twilight’s fur once more. Twilight was almost amused. But he knew the kit needed it, he had been gone too long. He just hoped his absence hadn’t caused any repairable damage to the kit or their relationship.

Twilight really didn’t want to show them this way, but they weren’t going to move otherwise and the kit needed to sleep on a bed, not the floor. Even as a wolf Twilight could feel how thin they had gotten and that they hadn’t grown. Twilight just hoped his matching smell would be enough to ease the kit.

He let the Twili magic wash over him. 

He felt the kit stiffen, felt the confusion and fear coming off of them in waves, but Twilight kept up his rumbles and in place of his nuzzling he began to rub circles on their back. Slowly they relaxed, even as Twilight scooped them up, and nearly over-balanced them because-oh goddess the kit should not be the light- and carry them upstairs. He settled the kit into bed, before realizing the kit was firmly attached to his shirt, and he wasn’t going anywhere. Probably for the best, the kit needed the comfort and Twilight needed the assurance they were okay. He blew out the candle by the bedside table and snuggled in for his first dreamless sleep in a long long time.

Twilight woke the next morning to curious fingers and wide eyes. The kit (always the early riser) had taken to trying to figure him out in his sleep. They had apparently not succeeded so had instead decided to just wake him up. Twilight was amused and full of fond affection. He could get very used to this. 

“Mornin’,” he greeted and it was pure joy to see how the kit’s eyes widened. To see how they mouthed the words back quiet and slow. 

“Feelin’ better?” he asked, brushing some of the kit’s hair out of their face. They giggled softly, though no noise escaped their lips. Twilight knew it would take a while before the kit was comfortable speaking around him again, but he was a patient man. 

A small growl of a hungry stomach interrupted Twilight’s musing and he raised an eyebrow at the kit who huffed back, “Guess we should get started on breakfast, huh?” the kit nodded eagerly and hoped to their feet racing downstairs before Twilight couldn’t even offer his help. But he rose from the bed and partially made the nest of blankets and pillows the kit called a bed before descending the stairs to help the kit. They were already in the middle of placing all sorts of pans on the counter and pulling all sorts of things out of the icebox. It was quite the show, but Twilight took pity on the poor kit, obviously trying to impress.

“Eggs are fine Kit, no need to bake the house down,”

The kit tilted their head, confusion was written clear across their face, ‘kit’? they mouthed.

Twilight nodded putting the fish on the counter back in the icebox, “That’s what you are, well,” Twilight paused trying to figure out how to word something even he was still slowly starting to remember, “I guess it’s hard to explain. I started calling you kit super early in our adventures together because you reminded me of a fox, and the name stuck because well,” Twilight gives the kit a very pointed once over, “because your mine and I look after you. Like any animal with their young. So your kit.”

The kit’s face was bright red and they quickly turned around to begin messing with the fire, but Twilight could hear them mumble the word ‘kit’ to themselves several times, so he imagined they weren’t too against the idea. 

To be honest even with his memories mostly returned Twilight himself wasn’t quite sure when his feelings for the newest hero turned from confusion and annoyance of an exasperated teacher into the love and protection of a parent. It had happened slowly and yet too fast for Twilight to even realize what was happening to himself. And before he knew it the kid was his, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Twilight scooped up his kit around the middle, they made a startled noise and looked up at him with confusion as Twilight just rumbled in reassurance that everything was alright, “I’m proud of you Kit. I was never able to say it as a wolf, but I want you to know I’m so very proud of you.”

Twilight felt them tense, but he smelled the tears first. “Left,” it was quiet and choked, but Twilight’s ears were sharper than most and he heard his kit. He rumbled louder and pulled them in tighter.

“I never wanted to leave Kit. I’m not from here, the Goddess took me back, made me forget,” he felt the sharp inhale at those words, the haunting memories of his own experience being reborn as a blank slate, “but I’m back now, and I don’t care what I have to do to stay. I’m never leaving you again.”

“Miss you,” the kit mumbled turning around to bury themselves into Twilight’s chest. 

Twilight ran his fingers through their hair in a slow relaxing movement doing his best to avoid the few knots he found, “miss'd you to kit.”

Twilight let them stay like that until the smell of slat was gone from the air and their breathing had evened once more. Twilight knew they would have to have more of these conversations and more tears would be shed before everything was okay again, but Twilight was willing to wait and work. Anything for his Kit. 

“You good?”

His kit nodded and rubbed at their eyes as they returned to the slightly melted array of food. 

“I vote just eggs and toast.”

The kit sent him a look, but started to put the more fancy ingredients away. Twilight did notice that the boar meat stayed and he secretly hoped that meant bacon it had been a long time since he had bacon. 

Breakfast was a quiet affair, seeing as his Kit was still often too scared of his own voice to talk and Twilight was used to the other heroes talking over him during meal times they both enjoyed a comparable silence. 

Twilight was going to get used to this quiet lifestyle. He had lived it once before, but this… he laughed to himself as he huffed the bucket up onto his shoulder as he kept walking towards the little pond not far from the cottage. This sense of peace and fulfillment had never been there, and Twilight was happy to bask it in. Twilight scooped up plenty of water for the dishes and wondered if he should try to catch one of the fish swimming in the pond if only to see the surprised look on the kit’s face. Just as he decided he would settle for picking a few apples from the tree overhanging the pond-

**“CRASH!!!”**

He spun around, the bucket crashing to the ground and splintering at his feet. Twilight couldn’t see the front of the house from this angle, but he knew that sound couldn’t have come from anywhere else. It was too loud, too explosive, too- _The Kit_ the wolf growled. 

He didn’t care who saw him at this point. He shifted, and ran, it would only get him there a few seconds faster, but it was enough, it had to be enough. 

He rounded the corner and the front door was wide open, hanging off one of its hinges. He jumped through the open doorway, snarling, ready to fend off whatever threat had decided to hunt down his kit. Twilight didn’t expect to come eye to eye with the Master Sword and a startled looking Sky. 

A distressed noise echoing around the home snapped Twilight out of his confusion and he snarled again, using wolf speed to race past the startled Frist Hero and towards the sound. Still in their sleep clothes, not even wielding a weapon, his kit was being held in what Twilight knew was a too-tight grip. His rage was blind. He snapped. Screams echoed around the room as Twilight was thrown, pried off the arm he had clamped onto. Blood filled his senses, flooding his mouth and turning his vision hazy as the bloodlust kicked in. But his kit was free, and was running at him, dodging a grab from Hyrule to slide next to him, Twilight stood in front of them as Legend aimed his fire rod.

“Move Twilight,” he ordered, anger vibrating out every pore of his body.

Twilight let the shift take over him as he snarled back, blood still clouding his senses and anger filling his veins. He put his arms out defensively, caging his kit against the wall and away from the other heroes, “No,” he spits.

“Twilight why did you-,” Hyrule cut himself off as he kept hurriedly trying to wrap Warrior’s bleeding arm, “why did you do that!?”

Twilight didn’t answer, just watched the others wearily, evaluating possible escape routes, he would not leave his kit. But the kit could teleport away. The others would never be able to find them if they ran across the continent. And there weren’t many people Twilight would trust his kit with, but those people he did wouldn’t let him down. But how to tell that to the kit? And would he be able to get them to leave?

“Twilight,” Time. Twilight watched him step forward, and he let the growl rumble out of his throat. Time paused in his second step. A sad look crossed his face before the impassiveness was back, “Twilight explain.”

“You explain,” he snapped back, rage burning as bright as the shaking figure glued to his back, “you have no business here.”

“Twilight-,”

“Leave Time. All of you leave.”

“Twilight we don’t know what’s going on but we can help you-,”

“Nothing’s wrong, you’re the problem,” Twilight ignored how the other heroes flinched. “leave us alone.”

“Who is us?” Legend cut in, eyes shifting behind him, Twilight straightened himself up even taller, and pushed the kit further back.

“Leave.”

“Twilight we deserve something you just came out of nowhere and attacked us what-,”

“Don’t you dare,” Twilight growled, as he bared his sharpened canines he knew were still covered in blood, “you had the kit by the arm.”

“Kit?”

They needed to leave, this was getting them nowhere, and Twilight couldn’t guarantee the kit’s safety. Twilight glanced at the door, and Sky who was still standing next to it opened his eyes wide and started to yell “he’s going to-,”

But Twilight was already running, pulling the startled kit behind him, he dodged around Four and knocked Wind to the side as he raced ahead, but a tugging on his hand, and a noise of pain had him spinning around. Legend was standing there with the kit in his right hand, caught by the hair. 

“You’re not going anywhere,” Legend brought up his flame rod and pressed it into the side of the kit’s head, with a warning hiss of magic, “either of you. Stand down Wolfie.”

Twilight snarled as the wolf raged in his mind and screamed for vengeance. Legend really didn’t want to do this. 

“Legend that’s going too far. That’s a kid!”

“Twilight didn’t start acting weird till we got to this world and now he’s defending a stranger like family!” Legend's voice was steel, but Twilight's senses were heightened, he was merged so closely with the wolf that even the smallest of cracks in a facade he could see through. Legend's voice ever so slightly shook, and he wouldn't-couldn't look at the kit. “He tried to take Warriors’ arm off!” Legend says gesturing towards Warriors with the sparking flame rod and it was all the opening Twilight needed. He pounced. 

Legend yelled and released the kit to wrestle with him on the floor, but Twilight was all teeth and claws and anger. He would not lose. But Twilight wasn’t counting on someone else helping, on a sword cutting its way through his side to blind him to pain long enough for Legend to throw him to the ground and lock his arms behind him. He never expected to follow the dripping crimson sword up to find Time staring down at him with a sad pitting look. 

“I’m sorry Twilight you’ll understand once we-,”

“No!”

And the weight on his back was shoved off. Twilight leaned up to watch his kit, the ferocity of someone raised by a wolf coloring their normally angelic features, the embodiment of their hero’s titles personified. His kit, the Hero of the Wilds crouching in front of him snarling up at Time holding the glowing blade of the Master Sword.

Twilight had never been so proud and so goddess damn exasperated. 

“I believe we all have some explaining to do,” Time said in a carefully neutral tone, as Twilight got a glare that would haunt his nightmares for years.

“Another hero…,” Sky said in awe, shifting his focus between his empty palms and the still glowing sword held firmly in the kit’s hands.

“You could have said something Twilight! Damn it. Come on lets-,” Warriors gets cuts off as he takes a step forward.

The kit growls loudly, and the other heroes hurry to back up. Twilight felt the sudden urge to laugh. It was all too much. His kit was so brave, so foolishly impossibly brave. And Twilight was so stupid for thinking the Chosen Heroes, the Heroes of Legend, and the past holders of the Triforce would really hurt a child. He was a fool, a fool who was half-wolf, half Hylian farmhand, and all exhausted parent. 

“Its okay kit,” he eased, leaning up and quickly covering his still bleeding side as the kit made a worried distressed noise and glanced back at him but never lowered their guard. “It’s okay,” he continued, pulling the kit down and towards him, letting the deep reassuring rumbles fill the air, “calm down, these are friends of mine, they just spoked us is all.” The kit made a noise of disbelief, but let Twilight pull them into his lap, “It’s alright, Kit.” 

Twilight looked up into the shocked and confused expressions of the other heroes and let out a long sigh, it was going to be a very long day. Twilight was already ready for a nap and it was only 10 am, he just hoped the others believed him. 

“Well,” he started slowly, gently carding his fingers through his kit’s hair to ease the last of the tension clinging to their body, “I think I should first start by explaining that I was there for the kit’s entire adventure and saw everything first hand. And I’ve heard most of your stories now by this point.” He waited till everyone nodded their agreements before he continued, and he prayed that this stupid plan worked, “so I can guarantee that the kit had the most interesting adventure.” 

Yelling and chaos ensued. But as the other heroes argued their own individual cases and slowly eased up, as the kit in his arms tensed at the noise but then listened fascinated and curious to the stories begin told in front of them, as Time sent him an amused and proud smirk, as he was surrounded by his family and finally able to truly smile without a care in the world. Twilight regretted nothing as for the first time he and wolf were at peace.

**Author's Note:**

> Fun Fact: I create drafts of my stories sometimes weeks before I post them, but I never put the actual story in until the day before or of. I don't like writing in the tiny white box AO3 uses, so I use other programs, but I put placeholders so that AO3 lets me make the draft. The place holder for this one-shot was "story go here when done". (I swear I'm a professional). 
> 
> Also, I wrote a story about Wild actually being the real Chosen Hero!? (I was surprised too.) Don't worry this is probably not going to happen often, but sometimes it is nice to let the boy be the hero. 
> 
> Comments and kudos are always loved and enjoyed!
> 
> Have a wonderful day and maybe we will meet in another story! :)


End file.
